It is the International Year of Statistics so all statisticians are obligated to tell you why statistics are so rocking awesome. Here is my two cents worth – I’m not a morning person. No, you have NO idea. I feel bad about it sometimes when I am having my lunch break at 10:30 pm, but…
Very often, researchers (including me) use multiple-choice tests to collect data to determine whether or not an intervention has worked. Does the Dance Your Way to Math curriculum really result in higher test scores? Does Lollipop Spelling reduce the number of spelling errors? and on and on. I remember being told that statistics to be…
This is number seven. You can find 1, 2 & 3 here and 4-6 here. “I went to a strip club once. I looked around and thought, ‘All of these guys are complete losers.’ Then I asked myself what was I doing here. I must be a loser, too. I got up and left and…
Today, someone asked me, “Is it really true that guy you see on the Internet with all of the question marks on him, that it’s possible to get a government grant for anything?” In a word, no. People come to me all of the time with ideas that not even your own mother would fund….
Today, I’d like to add #4 to 6 to my list of things I have learned in my 55 years. (You can find the first three here.) These are: You were hired to DO shit. No, you are NOT smarter than God. LISTEN!! #4 You were hired to DO shit Newly-minted PhDs are only marginally…
“Ebrary? Oh, yeah, I think the university where I teach has that, but I wasn’t interested so I never looked into it.” So said a young professor today when I mentioned ebrary. I actually had looked into it years ago when I worked at a different university. It was all right but I could only…
I forgot how old I was for a while. Someone asked me how old The Rocket Scientist is and I said 57, then I had to think how that could be when he is three years older than me. So, yes, I will be 55 this year. I guess turning 54 happened when I was…
Wednesday, I went to a workshop, Mixed Models for Professors. It was a combination of discussion of the mathematics of mixed models, using SAS Enterprise Guide and examples for teaching. Since I was too lazy to actually take notes, I just tweeted it. Three useful pieces of advice, even if you don’t like my notes:…
“I’m XX years old and I’ve never used (insert any statistical technique here). Why do I need to know this?” I’ve heard some version of the above on every topic from linear regression to structural equation models, and at every age from teenagers to executives in their sixties. I’ve even made comments like that myself….
As anyone who reads this blog often knows, a. I like Chardonnay b. You need to get a life c. The purpose is for me to write down stuff I want to remember later. Serendipitously, this often turns out to be stuff other people would like to know as well. If you teach statistics ……